The property of a material or system to return to its original shape or state after being stretched or deformed, or in medical contexts, the measure of how well lungs or blood vessels can stretch and recoil.
From 'elastic' plus the suffix '-ance' (like 'resistance' or 'tolerance'), where 'elastic' comes from Greek 'elastikos' meaning 'driving or pushing,' referring to the ability to spring back.
Elastance is the opposite of compliance in medical terms—your lungs' elastance measures their resistance to stretching, which is why emphysema is so dangerous: it destroys elastance and makes breathing harder.
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